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Green IT at Harvard reduces our environmental impact in an increasingly technology-driven age

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We are committed to exploring and implementing best practices and innovations for data centers, end points (personal computing), purchasing, e-waste disposal, and printing.

Harvard is committed to developing University-wide Sustainable IT Standards to reduce energy and emissions from IT infrastructure and end users. VIEW OUR PLAN

A Green IT sub-committee composed of key IT and facilities leaders across Harvard is revising key guidelines and recommendations for reducing energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the University’s IT infrastructure. The committee is also addressing e-waste and the responsible and ethical disposal of hazardous electronic materials.

Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center

MGHPCC is a world-class LEED Platinum certified data center dedicated to supporting the growing research computing needs of five of the most research-intensive universities in Massachusetts: Boston University (BU), Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University, and the University of Massachusetts (UMass). Collaborative research enabled by the MGHPCC will address fundamental questions in energy sciences, the environment, and green computing.

Completed in November 2012, the ~90, 000 square foot, 10 MegaWatt facility, is located on an 8.6 acre former industrial site just a few blocks from City Hall in Holyoke, MA. With an additional 5MW available for other functions such as cooling and lighting, the machine room currently contains the infrastructure needed to house 10, 000 high-end computers used in support of computationally intensive research.

Green features of the MGHPCC

The electricity supplier for the center is Holyoke Gas and Electric, which generates more than 70% of its power from hydroelectric and solar installations.

A cooling system that uses outside air to chill water used to cool the computers. As a result, the MGHPCC users its chillers only 30 percent of the time.

A chilled water storage tank that allows the MGHPCC to run chillers (when outside air is too warm) at off-peak hours when electricity rates are lower.

Containment pods in which airflow is regulated using variable speed fans, allowing the MGHPCC to match fan speed to the temperature and pressure inside the containment area.

Hot aisle containment, which increases cooling efficiency by reducing the distance between the computers and the cooling units to less than two feet.

A high-voltage power distribution system that increases efficiency by reducing power loss due to conversions in order to step down the power within the center.

Remediation of contamination on the site of the MGHPCC, the planting of native vegetation, and the use of building material 25 percent of which was recycled and 25 percent of which was manufactured with 500 miles.

Personal Computing and E-Waste

Harvard's Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines include a preference for purchasing EPEAT-rated computers and monitors. Turning off computers and monitors when not in use and during holidays is an important action individuals across Harvard can take to help reduce energy and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Visit the Green Office Program to get tips on simple actions you can take to reduce energy used by your personal computing devices.

E-waste, or “electronic waste,” can also be recycled easily at Harvard. Recycling e-waste ensures that hazardous and toxic materials are disposed of properly. Clear, blue, e-waste collection tubes can be found in 50 locations across campus. Learn more

Harvard Campus Services partners with two local non-profits, Semi-New Computers and the LABBB Collaborative’s "School to Work" program, to re-furbish old computers for reuse. Semi-New Computers sells refurbished computers and the LABBB Collaborative’s "School to Work" program gives vocational training to special needs students of high school age from sixty-two greater Boston public school districts. As part of this process, the recycled computers are tested, physically cleaned and the memory purged using "Darik’s Boot and Nuke" program (DBAN). Learn moRe about the process